Tuesday, September 27, 2011

El Salto de Los Novios

Clearly, yesterday I ran out of chill pills. So I was recommended the next best thing. I got my bubblebath ready and miraculously fell into some kind of deep sleep while the water ran (A little dangerous, I know). In those dreams,

I traveled back in time to Navajas, Spain.

It's a tiny town outside Valencia that while on the metro, you might miss if you blink. After an exhausting couple of weeks of running around the world, the girls and I decided we needed a Popa's get-a-way (a vacation from vacation sort of thang). After a failed attempt, we returned to the train station the next day with a picnic (which never made it off the metro I might add) and an eagerness to discover something hidden.

And that we did. I bet Hansel and Gretel had a better sense of direction, thou. We were dropped off in the middle of what seemed like a movie set. The streets were empty, but beautiful.

While on the search for the waterfalls (The reason we made the trip), A little treasure caught our attention. This tiny spanish woman was sitting on a bench (First form of life). And like out of a movie, she began to tell us the story of two lovers. A spanish Romeo and Juliet. All the love and all the drama. Julieta (changed name for -well because I don't remember the real one) leaped from the tallest waterfall (this is why it's called "El Salto de Los Novios") to prove her love.

Since then, lovers still make the jump.

We were in awe. We were intrigued. We had to find this fountain where a lost life was a better risk than a lost love. Our hike had to move quickly (There was only one train back home!) but we still managed to discover enough streams, trails, and caves to create some pretty great memories. And then BAM. We turned a corner and understood the big deal. We understood why this fragile old woman still travels to Navajas with the little friends she has left. We understood. We stripped into our unmentionables and I, too, got to make the jump with my greatest loves.